coherence is all you need

At the end of this email, I’m giving you homework you’ll actually want to do.

No effort. Just beautiful music, breath, and the most powerful upgrade available to humans.

But first, let’s talk about why this matters.

The past and future are referenced from now.

Read that again.

Everything you remember. Everything you anticipate. It all orbits this moment.

But when your mind drifts into the past or future, your body follows. Your heart and brain fall out of rhythm. Reacting to things that aren’t even happening.

I know the place. The mental noise. The endless loops. It’s not just exhausting—it scatters your energy. Dulls your intuition. Keeps you from fully engaging with life.

Because when your system is out of sync, so are you. Your body braces for what’s not happening. Your mind chases what isn’t real. You lose you.

Coherence brings you back.

Coherence is what happens when your system moves from scattered to synchronized. When your heart rate variability (HRV) smooths into rhythm. When you stop reacting and start responding with intelligence.

In a world that’s accelerating, this isn’t just helpful—it’s necessary.

This isn’t woo

Forget upgrading your phone. Upgrade your nervous system instead.

This isn’t psychomumbo. It’s physiology.

Your heart sends more signals to your brain than the other way around. When they’re disorganized, so are your thoughts. When they’re coherent, clarity follows.

Science backs this up. When your heart’s rhythms and brainwaves sync, your focus sharpens. Memory strengthens. Problem-solving gets faster. Research shows heart-brain coherence improves attention, perception, and cognitive flexibility—the things that make you clear, quick, and creative.

But when stress and anticipation run the show, it’s a different story. Your system goes into overdrive. Your body braces. And when this cycle repeats, it builds into something bigger—allostatic load. The physiological cost of chronic stress.

It doesn’t just drain energy. It slows you. Scatters you. Dumbs you down.

Here’s what happens when you’re in coherence:

• Mental noise fades.

• Your perception sharpens.

• Your thinking becomes more fluid.

• Reactions slow down. Responses deepen.

You move through the world differently.

Your Homework (you're welcome)

One track. One breath. One moment. Let’s go.

1. Find a quiet place. Headphones in. Eyes closed.

2. Press play. This song from Nils Frahm’s new album. Let the sound take over.

3. Rest in your breath. No effort. No control. Just awareness. It’s the simplest proof that you’re here. Alive. Connected.

4. Mind wanders? (It will.) Gently return to breath. To Nils.

5. Stay for the full song. Yes, all 18 minutes.

There you go. Eighteen minutes of beauty, breath, and being.

Lately, I’ve been doing this in the evenings. Not to “fix” anything. Just because it feels good. Small move. Big shift.

When your heart and brain sync, everything changes.

Your body shifts out of high alert.
Your nervous system starts working for you.
You think clearer. Faster. Smarter.

Coherence isn’t about forcing calm. It’s about stepping into alignment.

And the best part?

It’s always here.

Coherent-ish,
— Leo

This practice changed everything for me. Join me in Ethr to go deeper.